I just want to be clear to every Republican/right-winger that has argued that Democrats/liberals are responsible for our ridiculous deficit and national debt -- the tax cut bill and the budget increase that just got through a Congress that Republicans control, with a Republican POTUS signing into law (presumably), clearly establishes that it's all just talk.

NEITHER PARTY gives a damn about the deficit or debt, and neither party can claim any moral high ground on the topic.

We're spending $825B dollars already. If they can't operate on that kind of a budget, which is higher than the next handful of countries combined, and still maintain superiority, then we're doing it very wrong. It's bullshit that we spend that much and still **** over our vets when they return, all the while whining about needing more aircraft carriers. Sorry, but military spending is way out of control. The idea that we need to maintain that kind of spending in this day and age is simply unjustified.

I agree with that; I'm pretty sure companies must be hyper-charging government contracts. Would like to see someone hold these companies accountable for what they charge...kind of like when Trump busted Boeing on the Air Force One contract.

__________________
"The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein

I agree with that; I'm pretty sure companies must be hyper-charging government contracts. Would like to see someone hold these companies accountable for what they charge...kind of like when Trump busted Boeing on the Air Force One contract.

This...take care of the VA and the vets they serve first and foremost. If you have that kind of budget you should not still be operating with cardboard file records. If you give your son or daughter $100 for lunch and they come back for another $50 and can't tell you what they did with the initial outlay are you going to fork over an additional fifty?

While we should do right by our vets, this does not address our defense needs.

__________________

“Boy, you all want power. God, I hope you never get it.” - Lindsay Graham

Funny, it works EXACTLY the same way with Republicans. The only difference is WHAT they spend money on, and whether to lower taxes at the same time to (further) increase the deficit.

"What" makes all the difference in the world.

And why should Republicans be required to be the tax collector for the democrat welfare state? Why should democrat spending determine the level of taxation we should have instead of Republican tax levels setting the level of spending available?

__________________

“Boy, you all want power. God, I hope you never get it.” - Lindsay Graham

The $25b wall, trillions in infrastructure, and hundreds of billions on mass deportation is new spend. It may not all be reflected in the budget yet but they are foundational Trump campaign promises widely supported by his base. The same base that bitches every day about welfare threw a shit fit when government dared to mess with their entitlements, which are absolutely a major contributor to debt.

The drug war is a $50b expense that trickles down further to overcrowded prisons on the local and state level.

How are these not examples of issues that drive debt and massively increase scope of government? We're talking hundreds of billions in spend.

They're not a part of this budget deal and they aren't entitlements, which drive our debt problem. You can complain about these things if you want, but complain to someone else because I see it as trivial and off topic.

__________________

“Boy, you all want power. God, I hope you never get it.” - Lindsay Graham

The U.S. military budget is $824.6 billion. That's the budget for Fiscal Year 2018 which covers the period October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Military spending is the second largest federal government expenditure after Social Security at $1 trillion. U.S. military spending is larger than the next nine countries combined.

There are four components. First is the $574.5 billion base budget for the Department of Defense.

Second is the Overseas Contingency Operations for DoD to fight the Islamic State group ($64.6 billion).

Third is the total of other agencies that protect our nation. These expenses are $173.5 billion. They include the Department of Veterans Affairs ($78.9 billion), the State Department ($27.1 billion), Homeland Security ($44.1 billion), FBI and Cybersecurity in the Department of Justice ($9.5 billion) and the National Nuclear Security Administration in the Department of Energy ($13.9 billion).

Exactly!! Anybody who is not voting Tea Party/Freedom Caucus type candidates in their states primaries has no room to bitch about fiscal responsibility. Also, any person who voted Obama for a second term after his first term of spending also has no room to bitch!

As Prison Bitch points out, most don't care about excessive spending and the national debt, and I guess that's fine as long as you don't bitch when the other side is doing it, that would be hypocrisy, and we don't want to be that guy, correct

I do care deeply about the debt we are passing on to our children/grandchildren and vote accordingly. I am not impressed with what I hear is going on with this proposal. All I have seen is sound bytes on tv, but when both Mitch McConnell AND Chuck Schumer appear to love it, there is a good chance I don't.

__________________
I believe what Al Gore is trying to say is we are all going to freeze to death of heat exhaustion.
I have prepared by buying a heavy winter coat with air-conditioning

While we should do right by our vets, this does not address our defense needs.

You should pay the debts you promised first. Cry me a river about the defense budget. We should always be looking at modernizing and upgrading our weapons and materials, but give a detailed accounting of how it will be spent and hold them to it like any other department should be held accountable. State governments don't run deficits they make choices based on funds available.

We should have an honest discussion around what those "needs" are, not giving carte blanche based on the requests alone.